Oblivious
by doom mongerer
Summary: Gabrielle has a crush. Ron is completely oblivious. Can Gabrielle's veela powers get Ron's attention? Poor girl, if she has to wait for Ron to catch on it could be years if his track record is anything to go by.
1. Foundations

Okay, so the reason behind this story is that I felt guilty and almost a bit of a traitor for pairing Hermione off with George in my last story. One of my very kind reviewers said that Ron deserves to be happy too, so this is me making amends.

Please feel free to leave opinions and comments, correct my spelling and grammar or point out errors. All input appreciated.

Disclaimer: Not mine, obviously. The site's called fan fiction and we all know the score.

**Oblivious**

**Chapter One - Foundations**

Gabrielle Delacour could not believe she had been brought here to this freezing cold country just so she could be fished out of a slimy, murky lake. As always she got roped into her sister's drama and as always she had not been consulted.

Oh Gabrielle, this week we're going to knock you out and sink you to the bottom of a merpeople and grindylow infested loch. That okay with you?

Well, no it wasn't!

And to add insult to injury Fleur had not even manage to rescue her.

Gabrielle was sulking and shivering and managing to pull off a watery version of the famous Delacour pout all at the same time. It really was quite a feat for an eight year old.

"Hey!" Someone interrupted Gabrielle's brooding by sitting down next to her. She noticed that he too was soaking wet and huddled under a blanket. The difference was that he didn't seem bothered.

"It's bloody cold in there, isn't it?" the boy grinned. He had red hair and blue eyes and, upon closer inspection, Gabrielle noticed that he had steam puffing gently out of his ears.

"Oh," he said noticing her staring at him. "Yeah, I forgot… Here you go." The boy handed her a little purple bottle.

"You need to drink it," he added pulling the cork out for her.

Gabrielle took a cautious sip. It tasted revolting but a warm feeling stole though her. Encouraged she necked the rest of the liquid and in a matter of seconds she was no longer chilly and the damp was rising from her in visible clouds of vapour.

"Thank you," she replied as her teeth stopped chattering. She hoped she got the words right. She could follow most of the English conversations that went on but she couldn't speak much of the language yet.

"No problem," the boy shot her a friendly smile.

Glad that he had understood her, Gabrielle beamed back. She wanted to ask him why he had been sent to the bottom of the lake too but before she could form the sentence Fleur bounded over and swept Gabrielle up in a bone crushing hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered to her sister. Gabrielle was forced to believe her but she still thought that if her sister was so bothered about her welfare she would have stayed with her rather than flirt with that tall, dopey looking British boy who was gazing, slack-jawed at Fleur from a distance.

Gabrielle was used to boys turning into idiots around her sister. Even the kind red-headed boy was looking dazed.

"Ask him what his name is?" Gabrielle murmured to her sister. Fleur looked surprised but passed on the question.

"Ron…" The boy coughed and looked embarrassed. "Ron Weasley."

* * *

A few summers later after Fleur had got engaged to Ron's older brother, Bill, Gabrielle's mother had decided that she wanted to take Fleur and Mrs Weasley out for lunch as a sort of pre-wedding war council. Gabrielle couldn't think of anything more boring. Luckily she wasn't invited and was rather unceremoniously dumped at The Burrow, the Weasley's family home, where Fleur had been staying for a few weeks.

Ron and Ginny were given the task of babysitting her. Gabrielle bristled at first but soon forgot her indignation when she was given a large helping of Mrs Weasley's apple pie and lemonade.

After lunch Ginny got out a roll of parchment and started to write.

"Who are you writing to?" Gabrielle asked. She was a nosy child but artful enough to get away with it.

"Hermione. She's coming to stay in few weeks. Really Ron should be doing this, she supposed to be his friend, but he's allergic to letter writing or something."

Ron just shrugged. "I'm terrible at letters. Anyway she has Harry to write to if she wants a pen pal."

Ginny rolled her eyes and muttered "Boys!" before returning to her letter.

"So, Gabby," Ron said cheerfully. "It's a perfect English summers day…"

Gabrielle glanced dubiously out of the window. Rain lashed down in broad sheets and occasionally lightning flared in the black sky.

"…what would you like to do?"

"I do not mind. What is zere?"

"How about a game of chess?" Ron suggested enthusiastically.

"Don't do it Gabrielle," Ginny intoned, not even looking up from her parchment. "Ron is freakishly good at chess. No one knows why since he's crap at everything else."

Ron didn't seem remotely bothered by that little jibe. "Ginny won't play any more because she's a bad loser," he said mildly.

"Alright. I play very well actually," Gabrielle told him.

"Excellent!" Ron rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

An hour later Gabrielle was in the process of demonstrating just how well she could play. Ginny had abandoned her correspondence and was taking great amusement from the scowl on her brother's face and the mess he had made of his hair as he pulled at it distractedly.

"How old are you again, Gabby?" he asked testily.

"My name is Gabrielle," she corrected him firmly. "And it should not matter how old I am. Fleur said you defeated an enchanted chess set once. I should not be much of a challenge, _vrai_?

Ron muttered something under his breath and Ginny laughed uproariously.

"I hope you kick his arse, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle smiled in reply and ordered her knight to take Ron's rook. There was a second when the piece protested that she was sending him to his doom but Gabrielle leant in and said sweetly, "Ah, but such a noble end. I know you have a valiant heart."

"There must be a rule against flirting with the pieces," Ron complained.

The game continued evenly for another hour. Gabrielle gave Ron a fierce match, something he hadn't had in a long time, and he had to work hard to control the game. Gabrielle was enjoying herself. Seeing Ron so focused was entertaining to say the least. He was so absorbed in a world of strategy that he was completely oblivious to the growing audience.

Fred and George had rolled in and Ginny had made popcorn. They were all cheering for Gabrielle.

Gabrielle realised that she was going to loose when she noticed Ron's ears turn a vibrant shade of red that was almost on a par with his hair. He had seen an opening and worked out a way to win.

Gabrielle studied the board and tried to see what he had seen. There were a few opportunities open to him but they were easily countered. She had to be missing something.

Tentatively she moved her bishop.

Ron moved his remaining rook with deliberate slowness which told Gabrielle that she had fallen into his trap. In vain she tried to think her way out of it, running methodically through the positions of the pieces but she still couldn't see Ron's plan.

The game was lost. In three further moves Ron had her king in check mate and the game was over. Gabrielle felt obliged to throw a minor sulk but it was mostly for show. She was pleased that she had managed to put up a decent fight and hold Ron's attention for hours.

He sat back in his chair looking at her with something akin to reverence. With a smile he said, "Good game, Gabby."

* * *

The third time Gabrielle saw Ron Weasley was at her sister's wedding.

Despite her initial misgivings Gabrielle had been seduced by the dress and the attention and was excited to be a bridesmaid. So much so that Gabrielle had pestered her sister constantly about the wedding and knew almost as much about the arrangements as Fleur did herself.

The day came and it was a beautiful sunny day. The ceremony was to be held in the Weasley's back garden at the Burrow and there were a lot of people there. Gabrielle didn't know many people outside her own family so she shamelessly monopolised those she did.

The Weasley twins chased her around half the morning as she gave them the royal run around.

"Hey Gabrielle, you ever need a job…" George said as he collapsed from exhaustion.

"…come and find us," Fred finished, laughing. "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes could do with a little minx like you."

Gabrielle giggled and flopped down into a chair wondering what she could do to pass the time until the service. Then she spied a battered chess set tucked away on a side table.

"Where eez Ron?" she asked the boys. "'E will play chess wiz me, I'm sure."

Fred and George swapped a pointed look and shifted uncomfortably.

"Erm.. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually…" Fred said shrugging.

"But he cannot miss ze wedding!" Gabrielle was scandalised. Then after a moment's thought, "Is 'Ermione his girlfriend?"

The twins laughed hysterically as thought she had cracked the funniest joke of all time.

"Really I do not see what eez funny," Gabrielle pouted. "Ginny, she goes out wiz 'Arry. It would make perfect sense, _non_?"

"Our little brother is a bit of a prat when it comes to girls," George told her in a confiding tone.

"So he does not like her?" Gabrielle tried to clarify.

Another bout of helpless laughter.

"Why are you so interested, soon-to-be little sister?" Fred said slyly.

"I just wondered…" Gabrielle replied unembarrassed. "I expect Victor will wonder too."

"Krum?" said George.

"Yes. Fleur invited 'im to ze wedding. He asked about 'Ermione in his letter."

"How do you know?" Fred said conspiratorially.

"I read them," Gabrielle grinned wickedly, "while my sister and Bill were 'walking'." Gabrielle scrunched up her face indicating that she highly doubted that walking was the pastime the young lovers were indulging in.

"Give the kid a cracker, Fred!" George snorted with amusement.

"We'll make a Weasley of you yet, Gabrielle," Fred said, impressed.

"But I would 'ave to marry to take zat name," the little girl said seriously. "Luckily for me, after Bill, there are many other Weasleys to choose from."

"Fred," George said turning to his twin. "I'm scared now."

"I'm bloody terrified," Fred agreed.

They both looked at the twelve year old witch sitting across from them and it suddenly hit them that not only was she growing up, but she was growing up into a heartbreaking half-veela. And by the look on her face they reckoned Gabrielle would take no prisoners.

* * *

"She will be sick if 'e keeps on spinning her like zat," Fleur Weasely complained to her husband of a scant few hours.

Bill glanced over at his youngest brother dancing enthusiastically with his new sister-in-law. He was not remotely interested but he was prepared to humour his wife.

Ron, at over six foot tall, was twirling Gabrielle like a top. She seemed to be enjoying it and Bill was glad to see Ron loosen up.

When Bill had arrived at The Burrow that afternoon to get dressed for the ceremony, Ron's demeanour had set Bill on edge. Bill was used to seeing Harry look tired and serious but he could usually rely on Ron to keep the mood light. But even Ron had seemed distracted and the forced smile on his brother's face worried Bill more than he would like to admit.

After a while though, both teenagers managed to relax and sank gratefully back into the familial idle of The Burrow and Bill could turn his thoughts back to his wedding day. Just one day away from the war.

"They seem fine," Bill said soothingly.

"Perhaps," Fleur shrugged. "I think Ron should be careful though. Gabrielle is at zat age."

"What age?" Bill said intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"What age do you think? She's starting to like boys and I think she might have a crush on your bother," Fleur said factually.

"On Ron? You must be joking?" Bill laughed at the absurdity of it. "Come on, darling. She's got to have more taste than that."

"'Ow can you say zat? 'E is you bruzzer!" Fleur's accent veered dangerously toward the French end. That was how Bill could tell she was angry. He was starting to get cross too; why on earth were they arguing about Ron. On their wedding day!

"In any case, I do not think you give 'im enough credit," Fleur continued. "'E fights on ze side of good in a war that should not have fallen to someone that age. You and I, we had a choice of sorts. Ron did not. But 'e is still loyal and brave – like you. Why shouldn't Gabrielle follow my example and choose someone with those most excellent qualities."

"She's twelve," Bill pointed out.

"Then it is less of an age difference than between you an me," Fleur insisted stubbornly.

"Ron likes Hermione," Bill countered.

"They are not suited," Fleur said dismissively. "They argue too much."

"We argue," Bill grinned kissing his wife's neck. "Sometimes that's the best part."

"Ah," Fleur sighed as she submitted to his attentions. "That I will not deny."


	2. Obvious

This update came a lot quicker than I was planning but the first chapter looked so lonely on it's own so I caved.

**Chapter Two – Obvious**

At nearly eighteen Gabrielle had finally worked out the secret of her sister's success. It was in the blood and it didn't take much for her to be able to turn on the charm and dazzle unsuspecting males into submission. It was a weird feeling of power and she hated to admit it but sometimes it felt a little out of her control.

It wasn't just down to looks, she quickly realised. Because although Gabrielle shared her sister's silver blond hair she did not come close to Fleur's natural symmetry and perfect bone structure. No, Gabrielle was a young woman that people would describe as striking. Her face did not have the same delicate lines and subtle femininity as Fleur. Rather Gabrielle had a strong, almost masculine profile. Her lips were dark and eyes were challenging.

She was beautiful but beautiful in the way that lightning or a tempest is beautiful; any sane man would run. The 'charm', as she usually thought of her veela-like powers, brought out a chaotic magnetism that augmented her compelling physicality and attracted suitors indiscriminately.

In contrast to her sister, boyfriends were not the be-all and end-all of Gabrielle's life, although that was not to say she didn't indulge from time to time. Instead she preferred to devote her attention to more cerebral pursuits. She wouldn't even consider going out with a boy unless he proved to be at least as interesting as _Helmartz Codex_.

Which was probably why, when she went to Hogwarts on the Tri-School exchange program, she was sorted into Ravenclaw.

That was the September that Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was finally set to open in Hogsmead and the news spread through Hogwarts like wildfire. Some of the teachers groaned at the very mention of the joke shop but a few seemed almost as excited as the students. Professor Flitwick in particular was very easily persuaded to wax lyrical about the Weasley Twins proficiency in charms. He even took a forth year class down to see the portable swamp they had "demonstrated" the day they had left the school in a blaze of glory and fireworks.

Gabrielle had started the year as a mildly interesting exchange student but in the days leading up to the first Hogsmead weekend it seemed like everyone in the school approached her to get the inside track on her brothers-in-law and what they had planned to mark the occasion. Gabrielle was curious herself and had sent owls to almost all the Weasley's trying to get information but it seemed that Fred and George were actually capable of keeping a secret. She had even suggested that she help out with the opening and reminded the twins of the offer they had made her years ago to come and work for them. They had written back saying nice try and given her a ream of special coupons for her friend to get free stuff.

The Saturday came and Gabrielle was ripped from sleep by a loud explosion.

"Gabrielle, come and look!" Alison yelled as she and the other Ravenclaw seventh years clustered around the window.

"The whole school's going to be in Hogsmead today," Melantha laughed.

"What 'ave zey done?" Gabrielle asked yawning.

"Seems they wanted to get everyone's attention," Ally pointed to the lake. Thousands of little paper boats were floating in formation, spelling out things like "Opening today in Hogsmead – the greatest jokeshop known to wizardkind!" and every so often there would be a bang as one of the boats would explode sending waves that would rearrange the rest into another message.

"Cute," Gabrielle shrugged. "No fireworks though. I like the fireworks better." She was actually disappointed that nothing more… well, violent had happened. She wondered if Fred and George were going soft in their old age.

"It's eight o'clock in the morning. Of course they aren't going to waste fireworks in the daytime," Mel said pragmatically. "Let's get dressed and get a move on. With any luck we'll get there before the crowd."

Gabrielle did as she was told and followed her friends down for breakfast. She wasn't really a morning person and yet she had been sorted into Ravenclaw where everyone seemed to wake up at the crack of dawn. Sometimes she thought she would have been better off in one of the other houses, perhaps Hufflepuff - nobody ever saw any of them before about ten on a weekend.

The girls ate their breakfast and listened to Gabrielle's familiar lament about the state of British food. They knew that her grumpiness would wear off as soon as she had a full stomach. When she tossed her hair and flashed a dazzling smile at a passing Gryffindor boy who promptly tripped over his own feet and had to be dragged away by his friend, they knew she was ready to go.

As they walked down to the village Gabrielle dutifully answered questions about the infamous Fred and George. She did her best to sound aloof and distant – "Zey used to chase me around. Zey are like overgrown children!" – but secretly she was pleased that she would have the chance to see them again.

Gabrielle had always liked the Weasley family. They were so loud and colourful and unequivocally brave in the face of the horror's they'd had to face over the years. She approved of Bill, which was surprising since she had never liked any of Fleur's boyfriends. He was very intelligent and kind and had always treated her like an adult. She didn't really know Percy or Charlie very well but what she had seen of them pleased her. Fred and George were a lot of fun, so was Ginny who never hesitated to throw a bat bogey curse if her brothers stepped out if line. Then there was Ron.

"He's Harry Potter's friend, right?" Mel said.

Gabrielle nodded. She wondered what she could say about Ron. She settled on a neutral, "'E is very tall."

* * *

It was all hands on deck at the newly renovated shop. Fred and George had offered obscene sums of money for the premises which used to be _Honeydukes_ and only a handful of people knew why. Most of their friends thought it was a stroke of brilliance but Hermione clicked her tongue in disapproval and muttered something along the lines of, "Well, at least one of the secret passageways into the school is protected if something happens."

"Of course, darling," George said hugging his wife. "My twin and I are the very souls of chivalry."

Hermione tried and failed to maintain her disapproving expression and went back to stocking the shelves with fake wands and magical sweets. Somehow she managed to class helping out at the shop under family loyalty, which outranked her still strict respect for school rules.

Most of the Weasley siblings and spouses had turned up for the shop opening and Mr and Mrs Weasley were presiding over a makeshift crèche in the tiny yard at the back. Occasionally there would be a loud shriek followed by Mr Weasley calling, "Nothing to worry about – Victoire just swallowed a Canary Cream."

The shop was due to open at nine o'clock. With half an hour to go there was already a queue forming at the door and a glut of kids and adults with silly grins were pressing their noses against the window.

Suddenly the crowd parted and a tall redhead pushed to the front of the queue and banged on the window. "Oi, George let me in."

"Apperate, you idiot," George shouted back.

Ron shrugged before rematerialising on the other side of the door. "I didn't think you let people apperate inside the shops."

It was Hermione who replied, "Well, that turned out to be impractical so we put you on the authorised list."

"I'm on the list," Ron grinned.

"Yeah, well, we can take you off again if you annoy me," George said. "You're late. Mum and Dad got here three hours ago and Ginny and Harry arrived last night. Bill and Fleur dropped off Victoire and have gone shopping. A lot of help, those two!"

"Where's Fred?" Ron asked.

"He's opening up in Diagon Alley. He'll be in later."

"Cool. What do you want me to do?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Hey. I'm the boss here in case you've forgotten," George protested.

Ron ignored his brother and turned to his friend. "You're husband seems a touch stressed."

George pouted as Hermione and Ron exchanged an knowing look.

"Do me a favour Ron and grab another box of Nosebleed Nougats from the back," she said. "Oh, and could you check on the kids and make sure they haven't got into any more Skiving Snackbox's"

* * *

The queue was enormous when the girls reached Hogsmead. Gabrielle frowned and muttered, "Well, zis is no good at all. We shall go in through ze back door."

Mel and Ally grinned and followed their friend down a side alley. Gabrielle heard the sounds of young children playing and homed in on the noise. She pushed open the wooden gate and found Mr and Mrs Weasley vainly attempting to heard four young children.

"'Allo Molly, Arthur," she called cheerfully.

"Gabrielle!" Victoire screamed and launched herself at her aunt. Gabrielle scooped up her niece and tickled her until she squirmed with laughter.

"Oh, hello dear," Mr Weasley said distractedly. "Here for the opening then?"

"Oui," she replied. "But ze queue is massive. Will Fred and George mind me coming in this way?"

"Oh I shouldn't think so." While Mr Weasley came over to give Gabrielle a hug, Mrs Weasley looked at her strangely. Thinking she had been rude in some way, Gabrielle quickly introduced her friends.

Mrs Weasley nodded at the two girls and then said to Gabrielle, "It's nice to see you again, Gabrielle dear. I think the last time was Victoire's birthday party. Now you're at Hogwarts, if you ever want to come and stay with us during the holidays just send us an owl won't you."

"Thank you," Gabrielle said surprised. She tried to work out the reason for Mrs Weasley's strange invitation – Fleur was always going on about how difficult Molly Weasley was to get along with – why would she go out of her way to be nice to Gabrielle now?

Rather than spend all day trying to figure out the inner workings of Molly Weasley's mind, Gabrielle went over to say hello to the other children - Dixie and Dot, George and Hermione's two year old twins and James, Ginny and Harry's nine month old.

Suddenly Victoire wriggled out of her arms and raced towards the back door of the shop. The kid was acting like a human pin ball. Gabrielle wondered what Bill and Fleur had been feeding her.

Luckily someone was blocking the entrance and grabbed Victoire before she could make a bid for freedom.

"Oh," he said casually, "Hi Gabby. You made it then."

"Bonjour Ron," Gabrielle felt a little embarrassed. Nobody else called her Gabby and she had repeatedly asked Ron not to but it never seemed to sink in. She could feel Mel and Ally looking at her and at Ron with astonishment.

"Come on," he said waving for them to follow, "Come and have a look at the shop before the mob descends."

They walked in to the sound of familiar voices. Gabrielle stole a glance at her two friends who were looking distinctly star struck. Not only was _the_ Harry Potter lounging against the counter but Ginny Potter, the famous chaser and three time winner of Witch Weekly's most glamorous quidditch player award, was pacing up and down pulling distractedly at her clothes.

"I hate you George," Ginny was saying as she gestured to the magenta robes she and Harry were wearing. "These are vile."

"There supposed to be highly visible actually," George said. "It's all a carefully thought out sales strategy."

"Just tell me Ron's here," Harry moaned. "I need to know someone else is suffering too."

"I'm here," Ron said laughing. "But there's no way you're getting me in one of those things George!"

"Oh, hello Gabrielle," Hermione said as she noticed the teenagers shuffling in behind Ron.

"Yeah, found 'em in the yard. Didn't fancy queuing did you, Gabby?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron and ushered the girls in. Gabrielle was grateful that she didn't have to concentrate on Ron anymore as she was beginning to get the usual heavy feeling in her stomach that tended to set in whenever he was around.

Hermione gave them a quick tour and said, "Listen, in about twenty minutes it's going to be pandemonium in here so pick out what you want now and we'll send it up to the castle later." Ally and Mel squealed excitedly and dashed to love potions section.

Hermione watched them ruefully. "I know you're of age, Gabrielle, but there's no way George will sell that stuff to you. It's not like you'd need something like that anyway."

Gabrielle nodded dubiously. Ordinarily Hermione would have been right. A smile here, a sway of her hips there with a bit of the old veela magic usually did the trick. But occasionally, recently, her powers had seemed to have deserted her. Gabrielle wasn't sure if they shut down entirely when she was around Ron or whether he was just immune. Either way whenever Gabrielle saw him she managed to do a very passable impression of the shy, gawky teenager she had _never_ been. She heaved a frustrated sigh.

"Hey," Hermione said with concern. "Is everything alright at school? It must be hard to be away from all your old friends."

"No," Gabrielle said, shaking herself out of her gloom and smiling brightly. "I'm enjoying 'Ogwarts very much. It is different from Beaubatons. We 'ave much more freedom."

"I know what you mean. I sometime thought that as long as we turned up to class, didn't cause any physical damage and didn't let Filch catch us that Dumbledore was happy for us to do whatever we wanted. I don't know if Minerva's that laid back?"

"I think she secretly finds the students entertaining," Gabrielle said. Hermione was another surprise, she thought. Fleur had always said that she was an "unattractive little know-it-all". But Gabrielle found herself warming to the young woman as they chatted about Ravenclaw and Hogwarts library and advanced transfiguration.

In no time at all nine o'clock rolled round and George yelled, "Alright people, man your posts!"

"Well, I guess this is it," Hermione shook her head in resignation, "Another generation of Hogwarts students corrupted by the Weasley Twins. Listen Gabrielle, anytime you need to get away you are welcome here. Day or night."

Gabrielle frowned in confusion. Surely Hermione knew that Hogsmead weekends were only every month or so. What was she getting at?

"Ron," Hermione called him over. "It's about to get real busy in here. Might be a good time to show Gabrielle the cellar."

Ron stared stupidly at his friend. "The cellar?"

"The cellar," said Hermione pointedly.

Suddenly realisation seemed to dawn on Ron. "Oh, the _cellar_."

* * *

"Why are we down 'ere?" Gabrielle peered through the gloom and made out a few stacks of boxes and very little of interest.

Ron lit his wand and tramped around the place, banging the floor with his heels. It looked like he was doing some strange dance.

"Now where is it?" he muttered and stamped some more.

"What are you looking for?" Gabrielle asked curiously. "Can I help?"

"Nah… It's here somewhere. I just never really saw it from this side before. Ah!" Suddenly Ron's boot hit something hollow and an echoey knock sounded in the room. He knelt down and swept the dirt away revealing a rickety old trap door.

"Where does that go?"

"That, Gabby, goes right into Hogwarts and comes out… behind the tapestry of Mad Hilda and her Miserable Men on the potions corridor, if I remember rightly."

"A secret passageway?" Gabrielle said delighted.

"Of course. Why do you thing Fred and George wanted this place? So they could smuggle orders into Hogwarts even if Filch started to check owls."

"Zat is wonderful!" Gabrielle cried. "Beaubatons did not 'ave any secret passageways. And now it makes sense what 'Ermione meant when she said to come any time I wanted…"

"Yeah, just keep it quiet though. Fred and George are pretty uptight when it comes to security. You have to be on their list otherwise you can't get into the building without really loud alarms and a lot of bleeding."

"Zat is so kind," Gabrielle said quietly. "I don't understand why everyone is being so nice to me."

"Well, you're a long way from home and you're family… sort of." Ron shrugged.

Gabrielle's jaw dropped in horror. Ron thought of her as family, like a little sister no doubt! Gabrielle found herself fast approaching sulk mode and she knew she had to get out of there before she regressed into a full blown temper tantrum, which was unfortunately one of the downsides of having veela blood.

"Well, thank you. We should go back now," Gabrielle said coldly. "My friends will be wondering where I am."

* * *

George saw the pair return to the shop and Gabrielle's face was dark and unhappy. She gathered up her friends, said goodbye and fairly sprinted out of the shop.

Ron didn't seem to notice anything amiss.

Hermione caught George's eye shot him look that communicated everything from the fact that she had seen exactly what had happened to her mirth at the situation.

"Do you think he has any idea?" George whispered to her.

"Not a chance," she grinned back. "Poor Gabrielle. If she has to wait for Ron to catch on it could be years, going off his track record."

"I don't get it. She's part veela right? Shouldn't she be able to just... you know…" George made a flouncy gesture.

"I dunno. She's not like Fleur." Hermione mused thoughtfully for a moment. "I like her though."

"Yeah. It's a shame Ron's such a prat."

"Couldn't you maybe give him a bit of a nudge…"

"I'll nudge," George agreed. "But if that doesn't work then you'll have to give him a gigantic push."

TBC.


	3. Hints

Thank you to the readers who have already reviewed and sorry for the very long gap. This is a very short chapter but I promise, more on the way very soon.

**Chapter Three – Hints**

Ron had had a surprisingly good time at the opening. It might have had something to do with both Harry and Hermione being there. It was rare enough now that they all got to spend time together these days.

If George hadn't spent the majority of the day pestering him with cryptic comments he would have volunteered to help out again. As it was, if Ron had to hear another, "So, how's the love life?" or "How long have you and Luna been split up now?" he might have to curse his brother severely.

What was it about marriage that people felt the need to pass it on like some sort of communicable disease? He was only twenty-three for heavens sake!

Ron put it down to the war. He was sure that Harry and Ginny wouldn't have got married so quickly if there hadn't been the looming spectre of possible death hanging over them for most of their relationship. As for Hermione and George, Ron still didn't really get that, but stress had always made Hermione do strange things and you couldn't get much stranger than George.

Even more worrying was the incident at the end of the day when Hermione had said to her husband, "Well?"

George had just shrugged and said, "I tried."

Hermione had then turned to Ron and regarded him critically. "So, Ron, are you coming for lunch tomorrow then?"

Alarm bells began to ring and Ron suddenly became suspicious. "Who's going to be there?"

"Well, just us. Maybe Fred if he's not in an alcoholic coma at Lee's."

"Okay," Ron said, relieved that he wasn't being set up with some random witch. "What time do you want me?"

* * *

Hermione wasn't much of a cook but as she was Ron's friend he never pointed this out. On the other hand food was food and generally speaking that was enough to keep Ron happy. Hermione knew this and was obviously biding her time until he was well-fed and in a good mood before she got to the point. 

"Right Ronald," she began.

Ron glared at her. Experience told him that any conversation where she used his full name was bound to be an unpleasant experience. "George has already interrogated me about my love life, so don't start, Hermione."

"Did you know that Lavender liked you for a whole year before you finally got together," Hermione said.

"What! Where did that come from?"

"And you like me for what, three years? Four?" Hermione was grinning now.

"Hermione, what the hell are you getting at?" Ron said angrily.

"I'm just saying that sometimes it takes a while for you to realise what's under your nose."

"Still not with you."

"You really don't know do you?" Hermione laughed. "Gabrielle likes you."

Ron snorted with laughter. "Oh, nice one, Hermione. You've been with George too long."

Hermione just flicked a knowing eyebrow.

"Oh, come on! She's just a kid," Ron said. "Not to mention part-Veela. If she liked me then I think I'd get the picture fairly quickly."

"If you say so," Hermione said in a sing-song voice but she dropped the subject. She hoped that even Ron could take a hint that large.

* * *

Ron was temporarily weirded out by that conversation with Hermione and the one he had with Harry the next day didn't help much either. They sat in Harry and Ginny's back garden in the last of the September sunshine. 

"Hermione reckons Gabby fancies me," Ron said with a smile, assuming Harry would find the notion just as preposterous as he did.

"Yeah?" Harry said lunging to catch James who had just wriggled out of his grip. "Well, Hermione's usually right about these things."

Ron stared at his friend in astonishment. "You don't think it's a bit…" struggling to find the right word he pulled a revolted face.

"Fleur was eighteen when she got together with Bill. He was older than you. So no, I don't. Anyway, look at Lupin and Tonks. They were right for each other in spite of the age gap" There was a bittersweet pause as both of the them remembered the couple.

"I didn't mean that," Ron said after a moment. "I meant that she's more like a little sister. She's part of the family."

"Oh," Harry said thoughtfully. "So you don't fancy her?"

"No. I've never even thought about her like that."

"Really? Even after the whole Fleur thing? She's made of the same stuff. I would have thought she would be just your type."

Ron dimly wondered how the conversation had taken such an odd turn. "The thing with Fleur was just some Veela-induced crush. I don't get that way around Gabby."

"Bill doesn't get that way around Fleur," Harry grinned slyly. "Ever noticed that?"

Ron scowled at Harry. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"If you don't fancy her it doesn't matter, does it? I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it, mate. Hermione's probably just taken up Gabrielle's cause. Don't get involved is my advice."

Ron thought about that. Harry was right of course. Hermione was their friend but she did have a habit of meddling if you let her. Ron resolved to take Harry's advice and gave Hermione no encouragement to continue to play matchmaker.

TBC.


	4. Immunity

This chapter was a lot more fun to write and hopefully it's better then the beginning few chapters of this story which I'm not totally happy with. They seemed a bit functional to me. As always I'm happy to hear from you. Criticism welcomed. Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 4 - Immunity**

Fortunately for Ron, and not quite so fortunately for Gabrielle, Ron did more or less forget about it. He never stressed much over what wasn't in front of him and he didn't see or even hear talk of Gabrielle for another three months.

It was drawing near to Christmas and he was in the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley having a lunchtime butterbeer with a few work colleagues.

Ron only looked up and saw her when he realized that everyone else had stopped laughing at one of Aspley's hag-walks-into-a-bar jokes.

Gabrielle looked unhappy and seemed to be being unceremoniously pushed along by her dark haired friend he had met when she came to the joke shop opening. But as he caught Gabrielle's eye she smiled brightly and waved.

Ron waved back her smile disappeared to be replaced with an uncomfortable look. Suddenly she couldn't meet his eye. Ron glanced over at his work mates in bemusement. They were all gazing at her with idiotic abandon.

"Oi," he said, waving a hand in front of O'Brien's face. "Snap out of it mate."

O'Brien came to himself, shaking his head in confusion. Aspley tried unsuccessfully to form a sentence but ending up making nonsense noises.

"Bloody hell," Ron said trying not to laugh and wondering if he looked like that when he was smitten with Fleur. He turned back to Gabrielle but she was hustling her friend out of the door.

"Do you know her?" O'Brien said in disbelief.

"What? Yeah. She's my brother's wife's sister."

"Introduce us," Aspley begged.

"What, so you can drool over her some more?" Ron smirked. "I don't think so. Besides you've obviously already frightened her off. She practically ran out of here." As an afterthought he added, "And she's still at school."

Then Ron fell silent as he spotted the two witches enter the pub and the pairing was so unlikely his jaw dropped.

"I'll, er, get another round in," he said as an excuse to get up. As he walked to the bar he glanced back to the table and, yep, the same stupid expressions had settled back onto his friends faces. The difference was that this time he was having to fight it off too.

"Ron," an unnaturally high voice pierced the fog in his head.

"Hi Hermione," he said gratefully. He took a bracing breath and turned to the other woman."Hello Fleur."

"'Allo Ronald. 'Ermione and I are going Christmas shopping," Fleur informed him.

"Why? Ahem, I mean, that sounds great!" He had obviously injected a little too much enthusiasm into that stunningly bad comment because Hermione gave an annoyed little twitch.

"I'll catch you up, Fleur," she said pointedly. Fleur didn't seem to mind being dismissed. In fact she barely seemed to notice and merely floated towards Diagon Alley.

"Okay," Ron said. "I've said this before but I'll say it again, you are mental."

"Quite possibly," Hermione agreed with a rueful shake of her head. Her hair, singed short in one of George's experiments, fluffed in agitation like a dandelion clock.

"You're shopping with Fleur," he said thinking perhaps it would make more sense if he repeated it.

"It was her idea and I really do need to get started so..." Hermione trailed off pathetically.

"But you don't like Fleur," Ron protested. "It's one of my favorite things about you."

"Oh, really?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Even though you got giddy at the sight of her for years."

Ron shrugged and decided not to mention that he still did to a lesser extent. "It reminds me that you aren't perfect after all. Besides you always say that like it's some sort of character flaw – I couldn't help it. She's got that Veela magic."

"Oh come off it," Hermione scoffed. "You don't go all gooey over Gabrielle and she has that "Veela magic" too."

"Not this again," Ron sighed. "Gabby's different."

"How?"

"I don't know. She just is," he said simply.

Hermione was poised to say something else when Fleur stuck her head back into the pub and yelled, "'Ermione, 'Urry up!"

"Why did I agree to this?" Hermione moaned.

"Don't ask me. You're supposed to be the clever one," Ron said smugly.

"I guess it could be worse..." she mused.

"Yep. It could be a three headed dog..."

"...or pschotic Deateaters..."

"...or my mother when she gets in a rip..."

"Ron!"

"Kidding," he said hastily. "Go on then. Before she come back. I've had all the Veela magic I can cope with today."

* * *

Christmas shopping at Diagon Alley should have been a treat and Gabrielle was looking forward to it in an odd disconnected sort of way. The problem was she was a bit preoccupied with the ongoing hostilities with Fleur. 

She had decided to spend the Christmas with Fleur, Bill and Victoire at Seashell Cottage so she could have some time with them and her Hogwarts friends over the holidays.

Unfortunately she and Fleur hadn't lived under the same roof for almost seven years and if they had ever known how to peacefully cohabit they had long forgotten. Actually, when Gabrielle thought of their early childhood she was bombarded with memories of tricks, taunts and all out screaming matches. There were a few nice times but Gabrielle realized a little too late that they hadn't really _liked_ one another that much.

Oh, they loved each other in that reluctant and obligatory manner demanded of siblings but they hadn't been friends. It had only been since Fleur had moved to England that their relationship had improved.

It seemed that absence really did make the heart grow fonder and in the case of the Delacour sisters a buffer zone of at least a couple of hundred miles was essential.

The result of this reinstated familial squabbling meant that Gabrielle found herself jumping at the first chance to escape. She had arranged to meet Mel to go shopping but she still felt the black shadow of her Fleur hanging over her.

She was struggling to shake off her gloomy mood until they stepped inside the Leaky Cauldron and who should she see but Ron Weasley. He was sitting at a table in the corner, drinking merrily with a couple of friends.

Gabrielle had no control over herself; she felt her face break into a charmed smile which naturally threw Ron's friends into a stupor. True to form, though, he just shot her a friendly grin and rolled his eyes a little as he noticed that the man on his left was starting to gazing fixedly at her.

How embarrassing! It wasn't even as though there was any chance that he hadn't noticed what she had inadvertently done. She had missed her mark and taken out innocent bystanders. Gabrielle watched in horror as Ron waved a hand in front of the other man's face.

"Let's go," she hissed to Mel who was quietly giggling.

"Not yet," Mel resisted. "Don't you want to talk to him?"

"No." With that Gabrielle grabbed Mel's arm and dragged her bodily out into the yard. Mel was still laughing as she tapped the bricks with her wand.

"Trust you to fall for the one bloke who just doesn't respond to the Veela thing."

"Shut up," Gabrielle said crankily.

Mel wasn't perturbed. "I'm just saying it's ironic. I guess you'll just have to try something a bit more... traditional.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Mel said in a slow voice, "That 99.9 per cent of the female population get by without magical methods of seduction."

"Traditional methods..." Gabrielle said thoughtfully as she followed Mel into Diagon Alley.

* * *

Hermione stole a glance at Fleur out of the corner of her eye as the blond woman rifled through a bin of accessories. Then she looked around and realized that almost everyone else in the shop was staring in the same direction. 

This is insane, Hermione thought. I am insane for doing this. Ron was right, Hermione just didn't like Fleur and she supposed, if she was honest, a small part of the reason for that was jealousy.

Which was patently ridiculous. Hermione was a grown woman with a family and a very nice life, thank you. There was no logical reason to be jealous.

But she was and the guilt of it was why she had agreed to come Christmas shopping with one of the few people she could claim to really dislike. It was perhaps a misguided effort to make peace with her sister-in-law – to prove that it was possible to act on principle, to override such a silly and counterproductive emotion.

It was a shame that the whole experience was akin to have teeth pulled, something Hermione was more than averagely acquainted with.

Having said that, what Fleur had in mind when she had suggested this outing was anyone's guess. It defied even Hermione's impressive skills of deduction.

So they flitted from shop to shop, Hermione ruthlessly purchasing her way through a floor length shopping list and Fleur vaguely wondering whether the the blue or the green scarf would look better with Bill's hair and if it would clash with her winter coat. It was enough to drive Hermione mad.

Well, madder anyway.

She checked her watch and breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost tea time and soon Hermione could plead a prior engagement and force George to take her to dinner.

Hmm... She eyed Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes speculatively and wondered if she might be able to wrap up this nightmare ahead of schedule.

"'Ow do you think zis 'at looks?" Fleur asked, posing in front of a mirror.

Hermione tried not to pull a face. Cynically she always suspected that Fleur was perfectly capable of pronouncing English words but didn't because she knew the French accent was far more alluring. After all Gabrielle knew what an "H" was.

"I think it makes you look puffy," Hermione lied causing Fleur to rip off the offending hat and throw it on the counter. "Let's stop into the joke shop. These bags are getting a bit heavy," she suggested.

"Alright," Fleur agreed easily. For some unfathomable reason she had always had a soft spot for Fred and George.

They crossed over the cobbled alley and pushed their way into the overcrowded joke shop.

"Hello Mrs Weasley and Mrs Weasley," a chipper cockney voice piped up over the din.

"Call me Hermione, Verity," Hermione told the woman for what must have been the thousandth time.

"Yes, Mrs Weasley," Verity replied cheerfully.

Hermione sighed and shook her head in exasperation but decided that was a discussion for another day.

"God, that makes me feel old," She muttered turning back to Fleur who was gazing out of the window. Hermione followed her line of sight and saw Gabrielle walking towards the shop with her friend.

"Oh, I didn't know Gabrielle was here today," Hermione said. To her surprise Fleur threw her a sharp look. "Okay... I'm just going to put these upstairs. Be right back."

The little flat above the joke shop wasn't home to anyone any more so it served as an overflow stock room and occasional crash pad for various members of the extended family. Hermione threw her bags onto the bed of George's old room and wondered if Fleur would notice if she didn't come back downstairs.

Suddenly there were arms around Hermione's waist and she let out a startled shriek.

"Good to know I can still sneak up on you, love." George laughed in her ear."Hiding from Fleur?"

Hermione was annoyed that he had managed to surprise her. She grumbled a little before turning to face her husband. "Only a little bit," she admitted.

"Can I rescue you yet?"

"You can," she smiled but an explosion cut off their conversation and both of them raced to the window.

The scene unfolding on the street outside made George swear and Hermione hiss.

"Quickly," she told him. "Go get Ron. He's in the pub."

"What!"

"George, just go!"

He gave her a confused look before dashing out of the room. Hermione glanced incredulously out of the window one last time before apperating in search of Bill.


	5. Chances

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. This will probably be the last chapter until the New Year. Hope you enjoy and please don't be shy of reviewing.

**Chapter 5 - Chances**

"Ron!"

Ron looked up to see George looking harassed. He frowned. George never looked harassed.

"What's wrong?" he said quickly.

"Fleur and Gabrielle, at least I think it's them... it's kind of hard to tell," George babbled.

"George, that doesn't make any sense," Ron said standing and following his brother as he raced out of the pub.

"They're fighting," George explained as they hurried along to the joke shop. "Like, seriously fighting. We heard explosions."

They pushed their way through the crowds that had gathered and Ron couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what the fuss was about. Gabrielle was shouting in French and gesticulating wildly at someone who looked a lot like Fleur except with evil looking talons and distorted features.

"Is that..." Ron stuttered in disbelief.

The Fleur creature summoned up a fireball and hurled it at Gabrielle. Ron tried to leap towards her but George had grabbed the back of his robes and held him back.

"Are you mental? You'll be toast!"

Ron struggled to get out of George's grip in vein. Somehow though, Gabrielle seemed to absorb the fireball and seemed more angered than hurt by it.

Two muted little pops heralded Bill and Hermione.

"Oh, no," Hermione gasped. "They'll kill each other.

"They won't. This has been brewing for a while now," Bill said shortly. "I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this."

"What's happening?" said Ron.

"What does it look like?" Bill said. "They've both completely lost it. It happens sometimes. We need to get them out of here before they hurt someone."

Ron looked on dubiously. A few passers by had tried to intervene and had ended up on their arses on the pavement. "How?"

"I'll take Fleur. You get Gabrielle and apperate her anywhere. They should calm down once they're apart."

Ron wanted to argue, to point out that getting close enough to apperate either of them wasn't going to be easy, but Bill was already sprinting over to Fleur. Ron took a moment to wonder why Bill assumed he was the right wizard for this particularly insane job before following suit. He ran over to Gabrielle who was still shouting at her sister. He didn't hesitate, he just grabbed her roughly and apperated to the first place he could think of.

* * *

They set down hard in the kitchen of Grimauld Place. Ron's arms were still around Gabrielle as she met his eyes with a predatory glint. Suddenly her mouth was on his and her hands were flung around his neck. 

For a moment Ron was too stunned to respond but a low, satisfied moan from Gabrielle chased all rational thoughts from his mind. He kissed her back with a hunger he hadn't known he possessed. Vaguely he could feel her nails digging painfully into his shoulders as she desperately clung to him.

Ron didn't care. He just didn't want this mind blowing kiss to end.

Abruptly Gabrielle broke away, shattering the intense little world she had pulled Ron into. She was breathing heavily, they both were, and Ron realized that he was gripping her so tightly her feet were no longer on the ground.

He lowered her gently down and Gabrielle slumped wearily against him, letting out a shaky sigh.

"You alright, Gabby?" Ron asked in a deep voice. He cleared his throat and added, "Here, sit down."

Gabrielle collapsed into a chair by the fire and Ron went to the sink to get her some water.

Preoccupied with the explosive kiss he and Gabrielle had just shared, his hands shook a little as he ran the tap. He wondered if anyone had ever left him trembling before?

Nope, not even close.

But Gabrielle wasn't herself right now, Ron reminded himself, she was upset and not thinking clearly. It would be wrong to take advantage.

Even if all he wanted to do was touch her again and get another hit of that electricity.

He coughed again and once the glass was full, turned back to face Gabrielle. She sat staring unflinchingly at him, wearing an expression he couldn't read.

"Water…" He handed her the drink.

A few moments passed as Gabrielle sipped quietly. Ron sat down opposite her, painfully aware of how close they were and at the same time not nearly close enough. He couldn't take his eyes off her and would probably have been embarrassed if she hadn't been looking back expectantly.

Had she always been that beautiful? No, he would have noticed, wouldn't he? Thinking about it though, she didn't actually look any different it was just the arc of energy that was pulsing silently between them that made her the most fascinating thing on the planet.

Ron wondered if this new development had something to do with Gabrielle's veela magic but quickly dismissed the idea. For a start he had no desire to pledge his undying devotion or do something really stupid in a bid to impress her. His mind wasn't a foggy mess which had always been Fleur's calling card. Actually his sense were all sharpened and focused entirely on the young woman watching him with large melancholy eyes.

Ron didn't want to say or do anything that might frighten her so he waited and eventually she said, "Were are we?"

"Grimauld Place. My house, sort of. Technically it's Harry's house but he moved out when he married Ginny. They didn't want to start a family under this roof and I can kind of see why…"

Gabrielle listened intently, occasionally asking questions. Ron realized that the small talk was helping to bring her down from the raging high she had been on. So he continued to ramble until he was interrupted by a pop.

It was Hermione. Ron was not happy to see her. "Don't you knock?"

"Sorry," Hermione said, sounding anything but. "Ron, can I talk to you outside for a second?" She pulled Ron into the hall where she continued in a prudent whisper. "I've been speaking to Bill to try and figure out what happened."

"It's obvious what happened," Ron hissed back. "Fleur went all psycho-veela, with the mad teeth and the spiky claw things!" He was vaguely aware at the inappropriate level of anger behind that remark. This wasn't Hermione's fault and really, why should he be bothered about some sibling squabble when didn't even involve any of his own siblings?

"Yes, Fleur changed," Hermione explained patiently. "So did Gabrielle."

"No she didn't," Ron huffed, "I think I'd have noticed."

"Well, you'd think! Seriously Ronald, that's what happens when witches with veela blood loose their temper. I don't know why you couldn't see it in Gabrielle. Maybe the same reason her other veela characteristics don't make any impression on you."

Ron didn't quite know what to make of that. Hadn't Harry said something similar?

"Has Fleur calmed down yet?" he asked.

"Not quite. It might be better if Gabrielle stayed here tonight since you seem to be immune."

Ron thought about Gabby sitting quietly in the next room waiting for him to return and his body began to tingle. Immune? He didn't bloody think so!


	6. Misunderstandings

What can I say? I am overcome by the festive spirit. That or the spirit of Mills and Boon. Either way, who am I to argue? So I've decided to post a chapter ahead of schedule.

**Chapter 6 -Misunderstandings**

While Ron was out of the room Gabrielle took the opportunity to indulge in an animated, but silent scream. She drummed her feet against the floor in agitation at the memory of what she had just done.

She was mortified. Totally and utterly mortified.

So much for Mel and her traditional methods! Gabrielle could not quite believe her own actions. Not that it had been the plan in any way, shape or form to get into a massive fight with her older, more sophisticated, beautiful sister or to stoke up a temper so vile it could have repelled the most hardened of Deatheaters.

She deserved to get thrown out of Ravenclaw for this, Gabrielle realised. What part of her patently sub-standard brain had thought that _that_ was a good jumping off point for throwing herself at Ron?

Yes, very attractive!

And the worst part was that he had just ignored it and carried on as if nothing had happened. Her humiliation was now complete.

Gabrielle gave herself over to another soundless fit of frustration.

"You alright, Gabby?" a worried voice interrupted. She hadn't heard Ron come back in.

As gracefully as the situation allowed, she stilled her flailing limbs and rearranged her features into a less disturbing expression. She was aiming for a smile but the strained look on Ron's face told her she hadn't quite managed it.

"I'm fine," she replied wondering whether she could get away with telling him that, no, she wasn't a _total_ psychopath.

"Hermione said that it might be an idea for you to hang out here tonight," Ron told her.

"Here?" Gabrielle said. With you, she thought hysterically.

"Yeah," said Ron, running his hand absently through his hair. "Just while things with your sister settle down a bit."

Gabrielle swallowed. It had come to this; she wasn't welcome in her sister's home any more. She slumped forward and hung her head in her hands.

"She hates me," Gabrielle said in a flat tone. She hadn't meant to be so stark about it but she couldn't help herself.

"Nah," Ron assured her with a wonky smile. "Brothers and sisters fight. Believe me, I know. She'll get over whatever it is." He paused and then said, "So, what is it?

Once she started talking Gabrielle found it hard to stop. She told Ron everything; every silly little grip and niggle that had contributed to the resulting blow up that afternoon. Every snide comment that Fleur had directed at Gabrielle recently got aired. Every scornful look and dismissive gesture was examined.

Even as she was saying it, she knew it sounded like a ridiculous reason for scrapping in the street.

But Ron didn't think so. He listened patiently and when she finally stopped talking he nodded. "I don't blame you for getting upset."

"You don't?" Gabrielle said surprised.

"You can't help it if everyone likes you better than Fleur, can you?"

"What?" Whatever Gabrielle had been thinking it wasn't that.

"Oh, come on," Ron smiled. "She never got on with Mum or Ginny. Or Hermione. And they all think you're the best thing since sliced bread. She's jealous."

Gabrielle just looked at Ron and did a passable impression of a goldfish.

"You really didn't know?" When she shook her head Ron laughed and said, "I though Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart."

"Not me, not recently," Gabrielle admitted. "I suppose it makes some sort of sense. I just thought she didn't like them much."

"Maybe she really doesn't," Ron said reasonably. "Plenty of people don't."

Gabrielle mulled that little bombshell over for a while. It was a little too much information to process. In the end she decided that no matter what the external factors, Fleur had been way out of line. They were sisters. They were supposed to be on the same side. Gabrielle had been jealous of Fleur on and off for years but she hadn't resorted to stalking her or accusing her of the things she had.

Then, for no apparent reason, Gabrielle remembered Mel. She must be wondering what had happened to her.

"Ron," she said, "Do you have an owl I can borrow?"

"Erm," Ron frowned uncomfortably, "Sort of."

* * *

"Zat is an owl?" Gabrielle said. "Really? It looks like those puff things your brothers sell in their shop."

"It's got wings," said Ron defensively. "And it's categorically _not_ an evil Deatheater animagus living in hiding like my last pet."

Gabrielle stared dubiously at the tiny owl as it zoomed around the room, bouncing of the walls and twittering manically. How on earth could it deliver a letter if it couldn't even fly in a straight line?

But then she glanced at Ron and realised that if she refused to use the owl he would be quite hurt.

"Okay," she said handing the folded parchment to Ron.

* * *

Even though she hadn't quite got over her embarrassment Gabrielle had regained enough composure to eat a take away, play a game of chess and chat to Ron without breaking out in a cold sweat.

But she couldn't help sneaking the odd look at him as she tried to figure out just what he was thinking. Had he felt anything at all? At the time she had been sure he had kissed her back but as the hours passed doubt set in. Maybe she had imagined it.

At any rate, all those little glances served only to fluster her and puzzle Ron, if the bemused expression on his face was anything to go by.

What now? Should she confront him? Or would it just be better to let things lie? Damn that bloody bird! She needed a reply from Mel soon. She needed advice.

Gabrielle only noticed it was nearing midnight when she found herself stifling a yawn.

"Oops! Sorry Gabby," Ron said. "Should have guessed you'd be getting tired. I'll show you your room."

Gabrielle made a half-hearted protest. She didn't want to go to bed, not while things were so unresolved but Ron was already on his feet and heading out of the kitchen. Reluctantly she followed him into the dim hall.

"Wait," he whispered suddenly, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a halt.

Their eyes met and Gabrielle felt shivers roll down her spine. She couldn't pull her gaze out of those sea blue eyes and suddenly felt quite dizzy. Ron had always towered over her, but now in that narrow corridor he made her feel very small, and very young. Too young, perhaps, for him.

"Don't wake up Mrs Black," he warned her in the same low voice. "Come on."

Gabrielle wanted to ask who Mrs Black was but she obeyed Ron's instructions as they tiptoed to the foot of the stairs. The only problem was that as Ron stepped up onto the first tread he smacked his forehead against a low hanging light fitting.

"Bollocks!" he spat clutching his head.

A screech then filled the hall and curtains, which Gabrielle had naturally assumed were drawn across a window, flew open to reveal a life-size portrait of someone who bore a rather ironic resemblance to Fleur in full tantrum mode earlier that day.

"Filth! Shame! How the noble house of Black is desecrated by half-breeds and blood traitors!" the painting wailed.

"I beg your pardon!" Gabrielle said angrily.

"Gabby, there's no point," said Ron. "She's stark raving mad."

"I will not be insulted by a painting," Gabrielle told him and drew her wand. "Be silent, Mrs Black, or I will silence you."

The woman in the portrait merely continued her agonizing shrieks and made some rude gestures.

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes and, with a flick of her wand, magically painted a gag on Mrs Black. It didn't quite equal silence but the muffled shouts and the rattling of the frame as she tried to get it off were infinitely preferable to the usual commotion.

"Blimey," Ron said, "We've been trying to shut her up for years."

"I am sure she will find a way to remove it eventually, but perhaps she will think twice before she abuses your guests," Gabrielle said with a nonchalant shrug.

"We can only hope," Ron replied and guided Gabrielle back to the stairs.

* * *

Even if Ron hadn't told her, Gabrielle could have easily guessed that this was once Hermione's room. It wasn't girly and frilly but it was neat and clean and had a general air of efficiency: bed in the center of the room, two bedside tables crammed with books and a large wardrobe all laid out for easy use and to give maximum space. The photos of her with Ron, Harry and Ginny kind of gave it away too.

For some reason, knowing Hermione had once slept here put Gabrielle at ease. Hermione was a sensible person. Perhaps some of that sense would rub off on her.

"You got everything you need?" Ron said as he flung some towels on the bed.

"Yes, thank you." Gabrielle didn't want him to go. It was irrational but she felt that if he left then the day would really be over and in the morning it would be like ill advised kiss had never happened. In spite of the embarrassment and the fact that it was probably a mistake, it was a mistake she wanted to make again.

But Ron was already retreating out of the door.

"Goodnight then," she said in a small voice.

Ron stopped and drew along side her. With a concerned frown he said,"Really, are you okay?"

Okay, here was her chance to confront him. She sucked in a breath and...

Nothing.

Idiot girl, she told herself angrily. Perhaps Fleur had been right when she had called her a second-rate Delacour nerd.

"Gabby..." Ron said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Gabrielle said, "I'm fine. Goodnight."

There was a infinitesimal pause before Ron nodded. "Goodnight Gabrielle."

* * *

After Gabrielle closed the door Ron stood motionless for a long moment. He had been sure that she had been about to say something about what had happened. And he had made up his mind to say something to her. He didn't know what, though. Reassure her or... something. Actually it was probably just as well that she had cut him off because he had a track record in making a total fool of himself in this sort of situation.

He glanced at her door and wondered if he should knock and ask her just what she had meant by that kiss. But what did he think was going to happen? What did he _want_ to happen? It was probably best not to think to much on that.

He was supposed to be taking care of Gabrielle and in the end he decided that it wouldn't be fair, so he wandered back downstairs and past Mrs Black's portrait.

Now that really was amazing. Some of the smartest witches and wizards of the day had passed by that painting but none had ever thought to try literally gagging the old crone.

"You do realise you just got bested by an eighteen year old," he told Mrs Black. Incensed, she turned an alarming shade of purple and shook her fist at Ron. "Maybe she'll think of a way to get you down for good. Then we can do what Sirius always wanted and burn you."

Mrs Black stilled and gave him a wide eyed look as if to say, "You wouldn't dare."

Actually, Ron probably wouldn't. There were strict rules about the disposal of portraits and destroying them were only allowed in exceptional circumstances. Still, there were plenty of people who had suffered Mrs Black's wrath and would be happy to testify against this particular portrait.

"Yep," Ron said to himself as he went back to the kitchen, "She's pretty damn smart."

Ron cleaned up the remnants of their meal and put away the chess set. He had beat Gabrielle rather too easily. Neither of them had really been concentrating and the pieces had more or less taken over the game, lamenting at the sorry state of the players.

Ron had been aware of Gabrielle shooting him unnerving little glances but he was still in a state of confusion. He didn't know how to act or what to say to put her at ease. The only thing he could think of to do was to take Hermione's parting advice to "Be kind, Ron". It was a glaringly inadequate response but the best he could stretch too at such short notice.

With a sigh he put away the parchment and quill Gabrielle had used to scribble a quick letter to her friend. She was one of the few people he had ever met who didn't think Pig was the "cutest owl ever". He supposed that was okay. After all, even he thought Pig was a bit of a stupid creature a lot of the time.

At that thought, Ron stopped what he was doing. Hang on. It was _okay_ that she wasn't Pig's biggest fan? It shouldn't matter what she thought of the flying fluff-ball. It wasn't like she had to live with Pig!

Ron's sense of coherent thought was unravelling. He needed to sit down.

Luckily he was distracted from the obsessive thoughts that were gathering momentum by a green flare from the kitchen fireplace.

A dark haired figure stepped out and brushed soot off his robes.

"Hi," he said and sat down opposite Ron.

"Hi," Ron said confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Just got off duty," Harry explained. "Heard about the interesting events of earlier today."

"Interesting just about sums it up," Ron agreed.

"She okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you?" Harry said shrewdly.

"I'm fine," Ron said. "Why?"

"You just look a bit..." Harry tilted his head speculatively, "You look a bit like you did when the Cannon's drew against the Hurricane's last season. Like you couldn't decide if you were happy they didn't loose or upset they didn't win."

"Ha," Ron said dryly, conjuring up some butterbeers, "Funny. You should really think about going into stand up."

"Cheers," Harry said taking a bottle. "This is about Gabrielle."

"She kissed me," Ron admitted.

"And?"

"And that's it," said Ron, "Apart from the fact that I can't get her out of my head now. I hate it when Hermione's right."

Harry laughed. "She always did say Gabrielle had a crush on you. So what are you going to do now?"

"Nothing," Ron said. "I'm supposed to be looking after her."

"I suppose you're right," Harry said, "Shouldn't be for too long though. Christmas Eve's tomorrow so they'll be plenty of people to watch out for her from then on. Maybe she could go to your mum's."

"Yeah, maybe," Ron said unenthusiastically. Whatever half formed, half-witted plans he had about how to handle Gabrielle they certainly weren't doable under his mother's nose.

A moment of silence passed before Ron realised that Harry was smirking at him knowingly.

"Oi," he said. "This isn't funny."

"It is a bit, mate," Harry said. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone of your suffering."

* * *

Gabrielle changed into a pair of pyjamas that were far too short in the leg, but otherwise quite comfortable. She laid down on the bed and switched out the light.

She starred up at the ceiling and fidgeted. Sleep was a million miles away which frustrated Gabrielle to the extreme. She tossed and turned for a few minutes before sitting up and turning the lights back on.

She was thirsty. That's probably what it was. She would just nip downstairs and get a drink

As quietly as she could she crept out into the hallway and slipped down the stairs. Mrs Black squealed and gave an extra rattle in Gabrielle's honour. Gabrielle just stuck her tongue out in a childish gesture of triumph.

Then she stopped. Voices were coming from the kitchen. Ron and someone else were talking. She caught the end of a sentence from Ron, "...hate it when Hermione's right."

Gabrielle stole a little closer and listening in horror as the rest of the conversation unfolded.

Then she stepped away from the door and her expression hardened. It seemed she had underestimated just how ridiculously she had been behaving. Everyone knew that she liked Ron, including him, and Ron bore it out of duty or something!

Right, well it was time to end this. Gabrielle stalked back up to her room, ignoring the ache in her chest and swearing that she wouldn't inconvenience him any further.

TBC.

* * *

P.S. Thank you very much to x-.Hollie.-x, The French Dark Lord and Tara-Yo for reading and reviewing as the chapters have come out. You make me want to write faster! 


	7. Mistletoe

Yes, it's obvious but I don't care!

**Chapter 7 – Mistletoe**

Gabrielle thought very seriously about leaving the house that very second. God forbid she be the cause of anyone's suffering!

She paced her bedroom and ran through the options of where she could go at this time of night. The Ministry was closed so she couldn't catch an international floo and she wasn't particularly comfortable apperating.

It was a shame she didn't have her broom with her so she could just fly home. The journey would be cold but at least her parents would be glad to see her. They'd ask some awkward questions though. The same went for any other Weasleys.

Perhaps she could just go back to Hogwarts and spend Christmas there. But again it would have to wait until morning.

It seemed that one way or another she was stuck here for the night.

Then a tap on the window caught her attention. It was Ron's bizarre little owl with a reply from Mel.

Mel. She could go and stay with her!

Gabrielle managed to catch Pig long enough to retrieve the parchment.

_Hi Gabrielle, _

_Don't worry about me. I'm just glad you're alright. I bet Ron didn't know what hit him. He, he, he. Keep up the good work! _

Gabrielle sniffed in annoyance. That _wasn't_ the sort of advice she had been hoping for.

_You just caught me actually. After the whole fuss at Diagon Alley I was late home and you know we're leaving for Germany tonight. Mum had a hairy fit because I wasn't packed. Honestly sometimes I think she forgets she's a witch!_

_I'll write properly tomorrow. Such a sweet little owl, by the way. _

_Love, Mel._

Damn! Gabrielle had forgotten Mel was leaving. She threw the letter onto the nightstand and then threw herself back down onto the bed.

The more she thought about it the more she realised that she needed a better plan than running away. Gabrielle never ran away! She needed to start acting more like herself, a person she recognised and trusted, instead of a silly heroine from a romantic novel in short pyjama's.

No, she needed to take control. And that started with not loosing sleep over a stupid little kiss that she had managed to blow out of all proportion.

Gabrielle shut her eyes. Then she opened them again. This wasn't going to be quite _that_ simple.

* * *

Ron woke up thinking about Gabrielle, which made him smile and put him in a very good mood. 

Sometimes it took him a little while to get his head around things and the Gabrielle situation was proving to be no different. He had given up on trying to figure out exactly what was going on because it just sent him into a tailspin of unpleasant confusion.

What he did know was that after yesterday he couldn't think of her in the same light. She definitely wasn't like a little sister anymore.

Where that left them wasn't clear but he found himself hoping that he would get another opportunity to make something happen and not behave like the gormless idiot he had the first time.

Now that he had had time for things to sink in Ron felt far more relaxed and strangely optimistic about the day ahead. Between quiddich, Christmas Eve dinner and Gabrielle it seemed to him that it could only contain good things.

* * *

For Gabrielle too things seemed a little better in the morning. That was until she went into the kitchen and saw her suitcases stacked neatly by the fire. 

"Happy Christmas Eve!" Ron said brightly in between spoonfuls of cereal.

"What are my bags doing 'ere?" Gabrielle cried.

"Oh, yeah," said Ron. "That. Bill dropped them off. He thought you might want a change of clothes for tonight."

Gabrielle looked up questioningly.

"Christmas Eve at The Burrow. Tradition. No way out of it unless you're out of the country. Sometimes not even then. On the plus side, Dad never skimps on the mulled wine."

"Fleur will be zere, I suppose..."

"Well, yes. But you're not going to let her run you off are you?"

Gabrielle thought about that. It wouldn't really fit with her plan of being mature and not running away from things not to go. "Of course not, but I'm not going to just let her win."

"Oh no," Ron said with a barely concealed grin. "Definitely not."

"You're making fun of me," Gabrielle accused.

"I wouldn't dare, just in case you painted a gag on me," Ron said standing and putting his bowl in the sink. While his back was turned Gabrielle allowed herself a small smile.

"Okay," Ron said, turning back and rubbing his hands. "What are your plans for the day?"

"I don't know. Wrapping presents I suppose..." Gabrielle trailed off uncertainly.

"I've got to work but if you don't want to stay here on your own you can come with me."

Gabrielle didn't know which part of that she wanted to react to first. She was perfectly capable of being left on her own; she didn't need babysitting! On the other hand, wrapping presents would probably take half an hour and then the rest of the day would be spent in total boredom.

Ron seemed to read her mind. "Look, I feel really bad about the way things turned out. It can't be much fun for you to be stuck here when you could have been doing better things. The thing is, this house is a bit... daunting if you don't know it. Actually, maybe not for you," Ron chuckled, "But Mrs Black is the least of it."

"Wouldn't I be in your way?"

"Nah," Ron shrugged."But I can't promise you won't be bored to tears. It's your call."

"Alright," Gabrielle said wondering how agreeing to follow Ron to work could be considered part of The Plan, "I'll go with you."

It turned out that "work" consisted of refereeing an under-10's quiddich match in Nottingham. Gabrielle found it quite interesting. It seemed that children's quiddich was far easier to follow than some of the league matches she had seen. She found herself cheering for the away team (out of solidarity) and handing out oranges at half time. She even gave an animated pep-talk to the Nottingham keeper who had fallen off his broom six times - You must get back on ze 'orse. Fly through ze pain to victory!

Ron had laughed at her and said, "I could have used a coach like you when I was playing."

"Zat was very good," Gabrielle said about the match. "Why did you think I would be bored?"

"I just assumed you would be." At the sharp look she gave him he quickly added, "Won't be assuming anything ever again."

They flooed back to Grimauld Place where Ron took a bath and Gabrielle wrapped presents feeling mellow and significantly less hostile to the whole world.

And actually, it fitted in with The Plan quite nicely. She congratulated herself on behaving normally all day. Yes, she did feel a little flutter when she saw a windswept Ron jump off his broom at the end of the game and walk towards her smiling, but it was only a little one. And anyway, she could see a few of the mums eyeing him appreciatively so it was at least an objective flutter.

She could do this, Gabrielle thought confidently. And in any case she was sure that when they got to The Burrow Ron would suggest she spend tonight somewhere else. Perhaps Hermione and George would have room for her. And then she didn't have to worry that she was stepping on Ron's toes.

* * *

Ron never admitted it but he loved refereeing kids quiddich. Sure, you didn't get the bragging rights you did with the big league matches, but it was a hell of a lot more fun. 

Not that he expected anyone else to match his enthusiasm. He had learned long ago that once he started to get the funny looks from various friends and family that it was probably time to shut up. Which was why he was surprised and delighted that Gabrielle had seemed to have a good time. It would have been a poor lookout if all he had succeeded in doing was to convince her that he was a quiddich obsessed madman as had been the case with various other girlfriends.

Grinning like a loon, Ron shaved and bushed his teeth. There was only one thing that might have been a teeny tiny fly in the ointment – his family. Just when Ron had made up his mind that he wanted to spend as much time with Gabrielle as possible he had to go and share her with dozens of people. At least nobody had mentioned her going to stay with anyone else, except Harry and Ron was pretty sure that had been to wind him up.

When he had changed he went downstairs to find Gabrielle. She too had swapped her day robes for a very expensive looking cream outfit. She did know that there would be numerous sticky children at The Burrow, didn't she? Ron was about to advise her against such an impractical choice but self-preservation kicked in at the last moment and the words that actually came out were a rather ineloquent, "That's a nice dress."

Gabrielle smiled and thanked him and asked if they were ready to go.

"Yep," Ron said checking his watch. "A bit late but with any luck we'll miss Percy's annual report on magical accidents in the work place or whatever it is. Do you want to floo or apperate?"

Gabrielle looked down and her cream robes and then at the sooty fireplace dubiously.

"Apperating it is then. Do you know where you're going?"

"I do," Gabrielle said slowly, "It is just that I don't really like to apperate by myself. I don't trust myself to end up in the right place."

Ron was surprised at that. Gabrielle struck him as a confident sort of person but he just shrugged.

"Harry's the same. Still goes everywhere by broom if he can get away with it."

"I'll side-along, if you don't mind," she said apologetically.

"Of course I don't mind. But are you sure you trust me?" He held up his right hand and said, "Splinched myself, see. Never did find the rest of my fingernail." That probably wasn't the thing to say to put her at ease but she didn't seem to be bothered.

"Who really needs half a fingernail?" Gabrielle smiled slipping her hand into his. "Just make it quick."

* * *

"Everyone," Mr Weasley called merrily, "Ron and Gabrielle are here!" 

Ron felt a funny twist in his stomach at the sound of their names being coupled. To cover his awkwardness he helped Gabrielle out her coat and busied himself putting it away. Luckily no one seemed to notice anything amiss and there was a general chorus of greetings from the hoards of Weasleys, Potters, Tonks and even one very boisterous, green-haired Lupin.

While Mr Weasley was introducing Gabrielle to the people she didn't know Ron found himself being pulled into the dining room by an oddly exited looking Harry.

"Well?" he demanded.

"What?" Ron said cautiously. This was pretty weird behaviour from his best friend.

"What's happing with Gabrielle?"

"Seriously? That's what you dragged me away to ask. No offence, but that's pretty girly, mate."

"Hey," Harry whined. "I'm trying to be supportive here."

"Have you been drinking!?"

"Actually," Harry admitted, "Me and George did open a bottle of Firewhiskey while Gin and Hermione were getting ready."

"And is there any left?" Ron said sarcastically.

"No, now you mention it, but we did get talking about you…" Harry was cut off by the screech of a small child as Teddy barrelled into the room.

"Uncle Ron!" Teddy yelled. "Presents!"

"Saved by the bell," Ron told Harry severely. "We'll finish this conversation later."

Harry nodded meekly.

As they came back into the living room, Ron pointed Teddy back in the direction of his grandparents and let him go. It was like putting down a wind up car; Teddy just zoomed off.

Nearly everyone was there. They were just waiting on Bill, Fleur and Victoire.

Almost the second the thought entered his mind there was the crack of floo powder and new voices sounding in the kitchen. Ron glanced around the room and saw mostly smiles. There was only a hint of unease from Hermione and George. Gabrielle, to Ron's astonishment, was talking happily to Penny and didn't seem at all bothered by the prospect of her sister's arrival. Perhaps she hadn't even noticed.

This should be interesting, Ron thought.

There was a tense second as Fleur and Gabrielle faced one another. The people who knew what had happened looked on apprehensively. Even those who weren't aware of the situation picked up on the frosty atmosphere.

Eventually Bill coughed pointedly. Fleur sniffed in annoyance but then gave Gabrielle a minimal head jerk accompanied by a grudging, "Désolé."

Gabrielle crossed her arms and hesitated for a moment before replying. "Moi aussi," she muttered not making eye contact.

An awkward moment followed as the sisters exchanged a chilly kiss to cement their Christmas truce.

And that seemed to be the extent of the reunion. Neither sister seemed inclined to remain in each others company and they quickly got some distance between them.

"That went okay?" Ron said quietly as he handed Gabrielle a drink.

Gabrielle clicked her tongue noncommittally. "I like your parents too much to set fire to their house which is what I would have done if we had been anywhere else."

"Oh," said Ron. "So the hatchet isn't buried quite yet?"

Gabrielle frowned. "What is a hatchet?"

"Umm, a kind of axe, I think."

"That's a thought," Gabrielle mused as she threw a suspicious look at Fleur. "We should try and disarm her."

Ron broke out into loud bellowing laughs that drew some unwanted attention from the people nearest.

"I wasn't joking," Gabrielle said. "She can be vicious."

"I doubt she's going to try anything here, Gabby," Ron said soothingly. "But if she does then it falls in with the Christmas tradition of the family argument. At least it gets it out of the way and we can all relax tomorrow."

* * *

Hermione had been holding her breath since Fleur had first walked into the room but now the confrontation was over she decided that it would be safe to let her hair down a little. She allowed George to top up her glass and watched with interest as Ron whispered something to Gabrielle over on the other side of the room. 

Attentive. It was an old fashioned word but it was the one that seemed to fit. Protective also sprang to mind as she saw the way he shielded the young woman from the disdainful glares of her older sister. Hermione suspected that Ron liked Gabrielle a lot more than he actually realised and wondered if the time for the "Gigantic Push" had come.

"George," she said, giving her husband a subtle shove. "Where did you put that mistletoe?"

The _Mischievous Meddling Mistletoe_ was a seasonal best seller at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It could be set randomly or programmed to harass specific victims until they gave in and kissed. Hermione generally disapproved of that sort of product but she was prepared to make an exception to steer her friend in the right direction.

"What, really?" George said with a huge grin. "I didn't think you were going to let us put it up."

"And you still brought it, which means you were going to do it anyway," Hermione pointed out.

"Yes, but this way I know we aren't going to get busted…" George realised what he was saying and the sentence turned into a vain mumble.

"Just make sure it gets Ron and Gabrielle first," she told him.

"This is interfering," George scolded with a waggling finger. "There's a fine line between interfering and pranking, you know."

"It's just as well I married you then," Hermione said happily.

* * *

Ron was helping himself to second helpings of his mother's hotpot when he heard a buzzing in his ear. Thinking it was some kind of insect he batted it away. But the buzzing came back and out of the corner of his eye Ron saw a green and white flash. 

"Hey, Charlie," he called, "Did you let the snitch out of the quiddich box."

"No!"

Mrs Weasley rushed into the kitchen tutting crossly. "Indoor voice, Ron, please."

"There's something flying around in here. Look," he said pointing, "There it is again."

"What is that?" Mrs Weasley said. "It better not upset my pudding."

"Gah!" The weird green snitch dive bombed his head and Ron abandoned his food and stumbled into the the hall in an attempt to escape. But he was hustled onward into the living room where he bounced off Gabrielle.

"Are you alright?" she said putting out a hand to steady him.

"Ahh, look," Andromeda said, "It's mistletoe."

"Mistletoe? Mistletoe doesn't fly!" Ron complained as he tried to sidestep the thing but when he moved away from Gabrielle it attacked him again.

"It looks like this stuff does," Mr Weasley said jovially. "It _is_ traditional to kiss, Ron."

That stopped Ron up short. He wasn't so obtuse that he didn't immediately figure out that this was someone's idea of a joke, but what could he do? As much as he wanted to kiss Gabrielle again he certainly didn't want to do it in front of twenty of his closest kin.

Nor could he refuse without being either childish or insulting or both. Perhaps a swift peck on the cheek...

Fortunately he was rescued from making any sort of decision by his brain short circuiting at the feel of soft lips on his own.

Bloody hell! Gabby had kissed him. Again!

TBC.


	8. The traditional Christmas row

Wow, this has been really hard to write, hence the long gap and not much to show for it. It's quite choppy and my undergo a rewrite later – any suggestions welcome!

**Chapter 8 – The Traditional Christmas Row**

Gabrielle worked hard on not getting agitated that evening. She liked Mr and Mrs Weasley too much to let herself have an all out tantrum in their house. For the most part it seemed as though she was going to get away with it.

The moment she came face to face with her sister was not much fun but it passed quickly enough and there were plenty of other people to talk to. And whenever she felt herself close to loosing it Ron would appear out of thin air and distract her. She didn't know if he was doing it on purpose or whether it was just luck but she was grateful.

Then that rogue mistletoe had to go ruin the whole thing.

Okay, Gabrielle had thought, there was no way she was embarrassing herself again. She had a choice: accept a grudging kiss or take control. She calmly stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed a firm but brief kiss against Ron's unresisting mouth.

He didn't have time to react which was exactly what she wanted. The last thing she needed was another bout of self-doubt and depression as she tried to figure out whether Ron had kissed back.

She pulled away and looked up at the mistletoe. It was already zooming off in another direction, demanding kisses from new victims. Mr Weasley was now cheering Harry and Ginny and all attention was on them.

Gabrielle took the opportunity to glance and Ron. To her surprise, his face was drawn into a cross expression.

"It was only a kiss," she told him in annoyance. "It is not a big deal!"

"Right, no big deal," he said in a flat tone.

What on earth had Ron to be upset about? But Gabrielle suddenly didn't want to know. She turned and walked away.

Faintly she heard Ron call after her. "Damn it, Gabby, wait."

But she didn't stop even though she was aware she was getting a bit stroppy. Ron caught her up in the kitchen.

"Okay," he said in a harassed tone, "What have I done?"

"Nothing," Gabrielle said giving him what was meant to be a meaningful look but judging by Ron's lack of reaction it probably came out as more of a squint. "You've done nothing at all."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know I'm a nuisance to you but, honestly, all you had to do was say so."

Ron's brow creased in confusion, which somehow made Gabrielle even angrier. Ron shook his head and began to say something but he was cut off by Charlie crashing into the room laughing, closely followed by George.

"What do you think of our newest invention, then, little brother," George asked clapping Ron on the shoulder.

"I think Hermione isn't going to stop yelling until Easter. Rather you than me."

George snorted in amusement and exchanged a "Ooh, handbags!" moment with Charlie.

"So," Charlie said cheerfully, "Gabrielle, Ron. I didn't know you two were together…" He trailed off at the sight of George making cut-throat, shut up gestures from the corner. Gabrielle gave him a hard look. "Sorry, I just assumed… Nobody tells me anything."

"Of course not," Gabrielle said causticly. Then with a last despairing glance at Ron she fled back to the living room.

* * *

"I will never understand women," Ron said. 

"Never mind, mate," said Charlie.

"Plenty more fish in the sea," George said bracingly. "Although, I wouldn't lay odds of ever again finding anyone that fit who actually fancies you."

"It's terribly sad," Charlie said, smothering a laugh.

"Oh, just sod off, the both of you."

In their capacity as big brothers, George and Charlie totally ignored Ron's request. Charlie pulled up a chair at the kitchen table and George steered Ron into it.

"Beer? Usually it's a solution," Charlie suggested. "I brought this Romanian stuff back with me. It packs a punch."

"Yeah," Ron sighed. "Alright then."

Even as he took a bottle off Charlie Ron realised that drinking morosely wasn't a good plan, especially not in his parents house. He would just have one to appease his brothers and then scarper.

Luckily George and Charlie quickly got bored of Ron staring at the knots in the wood of the kitchen table and made a hasty exit as soon as Harry wandered into the room.

"Please tell me tonight is almost over," Ron said pathetically.

Harry grinned. "It's quarter to ten. A bit early to make a bid for freedom."

"I think I've blown it with Gabby," Ron said as he pealed the label off the beer bottle.

"How?"

"I have no idea. That's the problem."

Harry hummed thoughtfully. "Have you asked her?"

"No," Ron admitted. "Maybe I should talk to her. I did try last night but she went cold on me. I mean, I like her and everything but I don't know if I'd ever be able to handle the mood swings."

"Ha! Just wait until she's pregnant and the hormones kick it," Harry told him. "Then you'll know the meaning of mood swings!"

Ron stared at Harry appalled. "I really worry about you sometimes, mate."

"Okay. Probably getting a bit ahead of you," said Harry apologetically. "Just let her calm down and talk to her normally and ask her."

"Good plan," Ron said although secretly he suspected that things were very unlikely to be that straightforward.

His suspicions were proved to be entirely correct when, a few minutes later, Hermione stormed into the kitchen and narrowed her eyes at him in a way he had learned to respect and fear over the years.

"What have you done to her?" she demanded furiously.

"Who?"

"Gabrielle, you prat," Hermione fumed. "You just had to do one thing, ONE THING, and be nice to her and you couldn't even manage that..."

"Hang on a minute," Ron snapped. "I was nice to her. What are you talking about?"

"She just came and asked whether she could stay with us."

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, yes actually it is," Ron said angrily. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Fine, you insensitive, uncaring..."

"Emotional range of a teaspoon, I know," Ron said nastily. "It's. None. Of. Your. Business."

Hermione let out a frustrated huff and stormed off. Harry just flicked an eyebrow.

"Okay," Ron said, "I know I probably shouldn't have done that."

"It's not me you need to convince," Harry said mildly before going after Hermione.

* * *

There was a knock on the the door of Fred and George's old bedroom. Hermione ignored it. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now. 

Unfortunately someone couldn't take a hint and the door creaked open.

Hermione frowned. She could have sworn she'd locked it.

"Are you alright?" came a whispered voice – Harry's.

"Of course _I'm_ alright," Hermione said quietly.

Harry stepped quickly inside and shut the door, blocking out the sounds of music and laughter from downstairs.

The younger Weasley twins didn't even stir. Still it wouldn't be wise to wake them now they had finally fallen asleep. Hermione cast _muffliato_ and regarded her old friend suspiciously.

"You're up to something."

"Me?" Harry said indignantly. "I'm not the one behaving like a deranged cupid."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on Hermione. Don't give me the innocent act. I know you."

"Alright, I admit I wanted them to get together. I know it's stupid..."

"No, it's not," Harry said. "I understand that you want Ron to be happy but it's guilt that's making you act like this."

"Guilt!" Hermione scoffed.

"Yes. Guilt for not staying with Ron when everyone told you that you should and for marrying George instead."

"Harry..." Hermione said warningly.

"Ron got over it, Hermione. And if he is meant to be with Gabrielle, it'll happen."

"Yes, in about ten years!"

"So what?" Harry grinned. "Not everyone is quite as quick off the mark as you."

"But she really likes him," Hermione protested. "And he'll hurt her without even realising."

"He knows," Harry told her. "You can't protect them from each other. Especially if you want them to be together."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "I do know that."

She looked down at her sleeping girls and realised that she was going to have to get a grip of herself. She had other priorities and Ron's love life really wasn't her business. Not anymore.

"Alright, Yoda," she said to Harry. "You've made your point. Let's go back down."

* * *

Ron felt like he was being driven slowly mad. He had to get out. 

It was cold outside but Ron decided that it was a small price to pay for a bit of peace and quiet. He tramped down to the bottom of the garden and took his frustration out by stamping on some gnome holes and flinging the little creatures into the next field.

How had he managed to get himself into such a state over a witch in just a few short days? What was so special about Gabrielle?

Okay she was smart. He had to give her that. Ron had always managed to fall for girls who were much cleverer than him. It was a double edge sword and even though he was much better than he used to be, he still got very intimidated by intelligent women.

Having said that Gabrielle certainly didn't need brainpower to be intimidating. She was pretty fierce, even to Ron and apparently he couldn't see the veela side.

And despite the fact he couldn't see her veela side she was still gorgeous. There was no denying that any more. It was as though he had suddenly opened his eyes and see her properly and now he couldn't stop. Which was very inconvenient.

They got along well, when he understood what was going on. In fact, up until this recent development, he had always been able to talk to Gabby. He had always enjoyed having her around.

So maybe it wasn't so incredible that he had started to fancy her.

The real mystery was what she ever saw in him.

Over the years many people had told Ron that he was an idiot. Right now he fully agreed.

There was only so long he could hide before someone came and dragged him back inside so Ron decided to call it a night and started up back towards the house. But he stopped in his tracks as he saw a figure in white, back lit by the glow from the windows.

Gabrielle was standing outside the kitchen door, her arms wrapped around herself and gazing up at the sky. She looked so beautiful that she took Ron's breath away.

But she wasn't happy. Ron vaguely wondered if she was hiding from everyone too.

"Oh," she said. "I didn't know you were out 'ere." Her accent was stronger than usual which put Ron on guard for a moment before he figured out why. Then he realised she reminded him of Fleur.

"Just getting some air," he said. A part of him knew that this would probably be a good time to have that talk. The only problem was that he really couldn't see it going well while she was doing such a good impression of her crazy sister. It was probably best to just leave it alone for now.

But as it turned out, Ron was a glutton for punishment. He put it down to Charlie's Romanian beer.

"Hermione said you want to go stay with them?" Ron said in as neutral a tone as he could muster.

"I just assumed zat you would be happy to get me out of your way."

"You assumed?" Ron said with a frown. Hadn't they agreed assumption only lead to disappointment? "Did I say I wanted you to go?"

"No but..."

"It doesn't matter," he sighed in resignation. "I'll send your things over."

"Ron..." Gabrielle called but he was already walking away. As he passed though the doorway back into the house the enchanted mistletoe buzzed him. With what Gabrielle would later tell him to be overkill, he blasted the flying plant to ashes.

TBC.


End file.
